Scientists sequenced the potato genome, discovered a new group of fungi, found what could be the most-primitive basal dinosaur, took away the title of “world’s oldest bird” from Archaeopteryx, and uncovered evidence that climate change was already altering the geographic ranges of many groups of animals.

Zoology

In January 2011 a study examining 8 species of bumblebees (Bombus) provided convincing evidence that in recent years at least 4 of the approximately 50 species that occur in North America had undergone marked population declines. The study, which was conducted by Sydney A. Cameron of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and colleagues, noted that the four species declined by as much as 96% in relative abundance (total population in a given area) compared with four bumblebee species with stable populations that occupied overlapping areas. More than 16,000 specimens of the eight study species were sampled in the field between 2007 and 2009, and their current geographic ranges were compared with those of more than 73,000 specimens of earlier collections stored in museums. The geographic ranges of the four declining species shrank by 23–87% from those based on historical records.

The investigators examined individual bumblebees to determine infection levels of Nosema bombi, a fungal pathogen that had been shown to reduce the survival of worker bees in infected colonies and increase the susceptibility of individual bees to other pathogens and diseases. They also examined the genetic diversity of bee populations by analyzing microsatellites (short, repetitive DNA sequences that are useful markers of genetic variation in populations). The four declining populations had significantly higher infection levels and lower genetic diversity than the four species with stable populations. The ecological importance of bumblebees as pollinators of a wide variety of native plants as well as agricultural crops such as tomatoes, alfalfa, and legumes could not be overstated. The investigators called for further studies to establish the cause of bumblebee declines in North America.

Life SciencesScott Bauer— USDA Agricultural Research Service/Bugwood.orgIn February an international team of researchers led by Marina S. Ascunce and Chin-Cheng Yang of the USDA–Agricultural Research Service in Gainesville, Fla., provided empirical documentation of a phenomenon known as the “invasive bridgehead effect,” in which a recent invasive species served as a source of colonists to remote locations. The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), a species native to South America, was introduced between the late 1930s and early 1940s into the southeastern United States, where it quickly became a naturalized pest that delivered painful stings to people and animals that disturbed their mounds. Ascunce and colleagues used genetic markers to assess more than 2,000 colonies of red imported fire ants from 75 sites—including ones in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, and the Caribbean—to determine the origin of the introductions into those regions. The findings supported the conclusion that red imported fire ants that were initially introduced into the United States were indeed from Argentina, but most of the current worldwide distribution of the species originated with southeastern U.S. populations. After examining the ant’s genetic variation, the researchers also determined that the source of the ants introduced into one area in Taiwan was California, for which the southeastern U.S. was the origin. The spread of the species around the world highlighted one of the negative ecological effects of unchecked global trade and underscored the need for better invasive-species-detection techniques in the world’s transportation systems.

Increases in the number of Adélie and chinstrap penguins in the Antarctic were reported after predators (such as fur seals) and competitors (such as baleen whales and certain krill-eating fishes) had gone nearly extinct in the region by the 1950s from harvesting pressure caused by the sealing and commercial-fishing industries. With few fishes and marine mammals to prey on them, krill populations rose during the 1960s and 1970s. Adélie and chinstrap penguins took advantage of this nearly exclusive food source, and their populations subsequently increased. Since the 1970s, however, krill density, which correlates with the amount of sea-ice coverage, had declined by up to 80%. Previous studies had shown that the underside of Antarctic pack ice served as a substrate for phytoplankton, which was an important source of food for krill during the coldest months of the year. In recent years sea-ice loss had reduced the size of this substrate, and fewer phytoplankton had thus been available for the krill. Although the populations of all krill-eating predators in the Antarctic had also declined, the researchers maintained that the loss of sea ice became a special concern for chinstrap penguin populations, which had once been wrongly believed to increase with decreasing ice coverage.

In August a team of researchers led by Chris Thomas of the University of York, Eng., published the results of a meta-analysis, a statistical examination of previous scientific studies, to examine the shifts in the geographic distribution of several groups of animal species caused by changes in climate. The meta-analysis considered various animal groups, including arthropods, mollusks, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. In addition to reporting that many animals had indeed shifted their ranges, the research revealed evidence that the rates of change with respect to latitude and elevation were at least double those reported in earlier studies. The shift to higher elevations occurred at a rate of 11 m (about 36 ft) per decade, whereas geographic range shifts to higher latitudes occurred at a rate of almost 17 km (about 11 mi) per decade. The distances of both latitudinal and elevational range shifts of species observed in different studies reflected the average increase in temperature of an area. The investigators indicated that several processes were probably responsible for the high diversity of geographic range shifts among species and that this diversity made the identification of global patterns difficult. For example, different species in the analysis varied greatly in how long they took to respond to climate change, in part because each species differed physiologically in how sensitive it was to environmental variability. Also, the direct responses of some species to climate change may have been masked by latitudinal or elevational range adjustments that occurred in response to other ecological phenomena, such as changes in habitat, food and water resources, and interactions with other species. The scientists also noted that the variation between and within taxonomic groups was great when each species or group of species was examined independently. Therefore, the researchers maintained that determining and predicting climate-change responses for individual species would require detailed studies of their unique physiology and ecology, as well as comprehensive surveys of the environments in which they lived.

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